The next 2 weeks...

... are going to be hectic. Not only has winter descended upon this amazing place:


It's also the last week of Mountain school, and I'm wrapping up my last session with kids here in mid-40 degree kinda rainy weather. The kids all had fun, we found mushrooms, ran amuck, hid behind trees and blind folded each other while trying to meet a tree.

but more importantly, we're getting ready to go floating down a river for 18 days.

I received a book today written by Edward Abbey which contained his journals from his last trip down the Grand. The quote on the back cover reads "Water topples upon us, filling the boat in an instant. The force of the river carries us through the first wave and into a second, deeper hole... I think I can almost see bedrock bottom. The third wave towers above us. Far above. The Great Wave. Heavily our water-loaded boat, askew, climbs up its face. Never makes it. As the wave hits us from the portside our dory turns over with the grave, solemn, inevitable certainty of disaster. No one says a word as we go under."

no, i'm not worried at all.

Yesterday, i also read an amazing post written by one of my friends that will also be joining us on this trip. You can read it here. But the quick summary is that he traveled to the source of the Colorado river to see the trickles of water that we would soon be paddling down.

I leave for Flagstaff on the evening of the 9th, and at 10am on the 10th, we are picked up by our outfitter and will be taken to Lee's Ferry. The day will be spent rigging rafts, meeting new people, hugging old friends and traveling to a nearby ranch for supper. We'll camp at the rafts at the put in site:



From there, we will set off on November 11th and travel 225ish miles down the Colorado river through the Canyon. We'll be picked up at Diamond Creek at 10am on November 30th


From there, we will be shuttled back to Flagstaff and then I fly back to Seattle on December 1st. Somewhere during that time, I'll go for hikes, look at rocks, get wet, go for runs, eat Thanksgiving dinner and miss my family. But it will be an amazing experience and I cannot wait.

With that being said, i'll be accepting guest posters for the blog now :)

SNOW!!!

So, today Teresa, Dennis & I ventured 20 minutes up the road to Washington Pass where we experienced something amazing... SNOW.

We set off on a 2.2 mile hike up to Blue Lake, which is nestled right near Liberty Bell at Washington Pass. The rumors were proven to be true and snow levels ranged from 1 - 2 feet in places, especially up at Blue Lake (6,250 ft). It was amazing. Snowballs were thrown, bets were lost over animal tracks and snowmen were built. It wasn't blue or sunny out, but precipitation held off long enough that we were able to enjoy the scenery and the hike. Enjoy some photos taken by both Teresa & I.

Blue Lake!

Liberty Bell, Concord Tower & Early Winter Spires

What animal do you think these belong to?

found a hut with no roof. Obviously, step 1 is to enter through the top versus the door on the other side

Patrick the Snowman!

Hannegan Pass - relived

So... if you recall from the summer... i've had it out with Hannegan Pass quite a few times. To date, I had been on that trail 3 times and had reached the pass zero times (Story here). On Saturday, I was on a mission to reach said pass, and to claim it as my own and then summit something else around there depending on time and weather. We had a pretty huge weather system moving in, so my only goal was to get to that damn pass regardless of wind, snow, rain or intense heat and run as much of the way there and back as possible.

So, the book told me it would be about 5 miles to the pass and then up to Hannegan Peak with 10.2 miles of trail running and then 3000 feet of elevation gain. But here's the thing... there were no signs... and then I ended up running in a white out. So, with that being said, I ended up summiting both Hannegan Peak & Granite Peak, ran almost 14 miles and had about 3500 of elevation gain. I honestly just figured out I ran up Granite Peak when I was looking at my topo map program, and realized that Hannegan Peak actually does not have a false summit, but there's another peak (Granite) about .3 miles away... Also, before getting up to either peak, I got to the top of the pass and saw trails going everywhere, so I just started running out and back on trails until I finally saw the one I wanted to get to in the distance... which resulted in me bushwacking up a slope grabbing onto slide alders and small trees until I hit the trail I wanted.

Something I haven't mentioned yet, is that when I hit Hannegan Pass it started snowing and the wind picked up considerably. This meant that visibility went to about 300 feet quick, and it got cold. So, while running up the trail to Hannegan Peak, I couldn't see anything around me, or understanding why I ran up to two completely separate mountains.

Of course, the second I got off the summit (which was pretty darn quick) and started running back down the trail. once i got back to the pass, the storm moved over and the sun came out about 30 minutes later. Go figure.

Anyway, i'll stop rambling while attempting to piece my day together and show you some fine pictures from Saturday.

SNOW!!! typically, you can see a mountain across the creek below... not after this moved in

Grouse getting snowed on... and getting confused as I kept trying to move up the trail

storm's coming

Post-storm. Clouds parted and you could see Ruth perfectly.

Trust me, there's a Pika there. That guy was echoing "eeeeps" all the way up the valley until he could get a better look at me. Keep eeeping little guy!

I have no idea what day it is

I went running with some of my running friends up here. We were talking about our winter running plans. I was then informed that my main route for night running is also frequented by cougars.

So, if you're wondering what to get me for christmas, please get me cougar spray.


It was a long day, and i'm looking forward to sleep. I'll come up with something amazing and dramatic for tomorrow... like how i kind of took over a non-profit last week. more on that later.

Just another normal day out here

Today I went out into the wilds with park Wildlife Biologist, Roger. We went and picked up 5 of the last traps (hair snags) from the Marten project I wrote about back in August. In all, Roger estimated he placed 60 traps throughout the summer along the highway 20 corridor and it took us about 6 hours to remove just 5.

It was a fantastic day, we visited two traps on the east side and then three traps on the west side. One of the east side traps had suspect grizzly hair on the snag, and the entire trap was mangled. On the west side, we had less success, and one of the pieces of chicken was still left on the tree (gross). We trampled through the woods and talked about anything from pika projects to skiing this winter. I'm happy to say, I have a new backcountry ski partner! We also discussed some possibilities for graduate involvement in the winter time, which would include skiing, traps, and skiing. hooray.

Anyway, just to give a 20 second history on the Marten project, the Pine Marten is a small little guy that needs a pretty good home range in order to be viable. It is also one of the species in the North Cascades complex that they believe to be healthy and in abundance. So, this project is to test to see if hwy 20 acts as a barrier for martens, causing isolated populations to be formed. There are traps set on both the north side and the south side of the highway which will catch the hair of the pine martens when they go for the gross meat under the hoods of the traps. The hair samples are then transferred to a lab in BC where they identify the DNA from the hair samples. The researchers are then able to figure out if the martens on both sides of the highway are sharing the same DNA, are possibly even the same martens, or do not share any similar strands. The results will then show if the population is isolated, or if the martens are willing and able to cross the street to make friends with the other martens.

Here are some photos from today.

Marten trap destroyed by bears. You can see the hair snags on the tree

nice east side forest

gross. one month old chicken on a tree. still gross

following Roger through the "Fun Zone!" This required multiple stream crossings via slippery logs and devils club.

Mount Larrabee

So, on saturday Frankie & I set out on hwy 542 toward Mount Baker. We took a left onto the forest service road that would lead us back to Twin lakes and the trail head. It ended up being a beautiful and pretty darn cold day. Our goal was to summit Mount Larrabee, which Fred Beckey described as an easy scramble up some loose rocks. What Frankie & I should have learned by now is that what Fred Beckey deems easy, is typically scary and or life threatening by normal human standards. The first 2.2 miles was up a nice switch backy trail that led us to a beautiful mountain pass with amazing views of our surroundings. From this point onward, there is no defined route to the summit maintained by anyone. So the fun started. We got "off route" and visited an old abandoned mine. This then caused us to go back up 500 feet through blue berry bushes until we got to where we were supposed to be. Then, we went up a scree, tallusy, pumicy thing to the side of Mount larrabee. Only 1000' feet to go to the summit. This is where the fun started. I honestly could not tell you which way was the "right" way to go, except that we did not go that way. We climbed up some gross crumbly rock face where the rock you were holding one second that was attached to the mountain would be in your hand detached from previous mountain resting place. The word "exposure" or phrase "Frankie I'm really scared" was uttered or mumbled multiple times over the next hour... but thankfully we reached the summit and had AMAZING views (photos to come). We actually ran into one of the guys from the graduate class ahead of me, which was completely random when you're in the middle of designated wilderness, on a crumbly shitty trail that you made yourself. The way down was much easier since we had learned many lessons on the way up, and it took us 6 hours round trip. Frankie has some amazing photos and videos, but he's on a plane going to Korea, and I only have the few photos from my camera. Enjoy

Objective. We climbed up the South West face. So, from the photos vantage point, the side to the left.

Views for days!!

Baker!

Fun zone. This is where me met Mike, the C9 grad. Note the different rocks and how they point in various directions.

GLACIER!!!!

Kids.... again!

So, i'm on round three of trying to impart knowledge on small children this week. Today I will count as a success. These kids are rad. They're stoked to learn, they listen, they laugh and they ask questions. Who can ask for more?! I typically hand out jobs to kids like:
official map keeper
plant biologist
ornithologist
naturalist

and the kids typically look at me like im nuts... today though, they had to fight for the chance to do it... weird. They actually want to go hiking for an entire day. I mean, really?! Here are some shots from today.

yes, they're doing gang signs

peering over the dam. They then started spitting over the dam, only to find that the wind would cause the spit to fly back up and into their face. no lie.

more peering

mountain construction on the shores of Diablo

More focused mountain building

Tomorrow - off to the trails to explore!

mycology, fire ecology & beetles... oh my!

This past weekend, the current grads spent three days naturalizing in the north cascades while trying to come to terms with what naturalizing really is. Some people describe it as poking around, others explain it as the art of understanding our surroundings both culturally and physically. Others believe it is a dying art or science, depending on your perspective. Someone once told me that if you know somethings name, you are more likely to be tied to it. I believe that naturalizing is teaching someone a name, so that they can be more connected with the natural world around them and ultimately creating a desire in them to preserve or restore that world.

On Thursday, we explored the world of mushrooms. Pictures from that day can be viewed from one of my posts from last week. On Friday we drove to the Methow and explored the Chewuch River valley where the Tripod fire of 2006. The Tripod fire burned over 175,000 acres in the Methow valley up to the Canadian border. It was one of the most destructive fires in the area in decades. I found the below picture taken from a local of the plume they saw one day during the fire:



Part of the reason they attributed to the fire being so fierce and having so much fuel was the impact of various beetle tree deaths. There is the mountain pine beetle, white bark pine beetle and many more that have devastated the area, as well as many more around the country. To further the issue, scientists believe that with warmer winters due to climate change, the beetles are not meeting their annual death rate of 70% of the total population and larger populations of larvae are surviving through the winter. We spent most of Saturday learning about the Mountain Pine Beetle, and its current impact on stands within the North Cascades. So... to summarize - Climate change = more beetles = more dead trees = more fuel = hotter fires = larger fires = imbalance in the ecosystem.

Here are some shots from Friday:

Katie teaching us about fire scars. This Ponderosa was near the valley floor, at the beginning of the fires edge

Freezeout pass looking toward Tiffany mountain. What once was a beautiful white & lodge pole pine forest is now filled with burned trees

All you can see from the ridge are more dead and burned trees

Signs of life

We encountered some cows meandering on the way back to camp


Nick.

Today

So, today we have 80 7th graders showing up for Mountain School, and I am one of the teachers. To say that I'm not nervous or scared is a complete lie. 5th graders are cool, they haven't really figured stuff out yet... i feel like 7th graders are on the cusp of figuring it all out and playing with play-dough might not be there thing. So, here's to getting creative in the next 3 hours before they show up... and hoping that playing in the dirt and exploring will still work for them. If not, well then, they're just going to be stuck in the outdoors and they're going to like it.

Tomorrow i'll post some pictures from our grad retreat from the Methow valley. We visited the tripod fire location, and one of the many areas harmed by the mountain pine beetle. All and all, successful bouts of learning.

Off to find coffee and to come up some good ideas stat. enjoy your day. 45 and sunny here, and snow level is at 4500 feet for the day... pleasant reminder that winter is on the way!

Mushroom hunting!!!

For class today, we went mushroom hunting. For 30 minutes, we roamed the woods and found a TON of mushrooms.

Shelf Fungi

shiny mushrooms

bright mushrooms

perfect mushrooms

the booty (and yes, those are chantrelles)

Checking out everything we scored while trying it id them

MUSHROOMS!!!

MORE MUSHROOMS!!!

Aftermath for a lobster mushroom

We kinda drank a little too and the accordion & guitar came out.

It was an awesome day, and it really makes me want to learn more about how to properly id edible mushrooms. Coming home and cooking up fresh mushrooms we had just picked hours before was amazing.

Green Drinks

My life for the past two days has been pretty uneventful. I've been working on some group event planning (come here for your next event!!!) and then taking care of mountain school stuff behind the scenes. I've been going on some beautiful runs with 60 degree weather and sunny skies. One of the staff here kicked off ski season training today with 40 minutes of lunges, burpees, sprints, squats and etc. Just another friendly reminder that winter is around the corner... but of course, before that shows up, i'll be floating down the grand canyon for 20 days. Not much to complain about up here.

Tomorrow night I will be in Bellingham attending Green Drinks to do some good old fashioned networking. If you're in the bham area, please come on down. If not, book your next event here!!

Im also in the process of creating a trail running event up at the institute for next summer, so get ready for more details on that... it will be for all distances, speeds and intensities with some yoga and canoeing thrown in for balance. Can't wait! Also, it does get a little lonely up here from time to time, so send me an email and let me know how life in your neck of the woods is going. enjoy the sun
steph

Golden horn

We were originally supposed to climb Pyramid & Snowfield this weekend, but the clouds did not lift as planned... so we headed eastward. We were rewarded with beautiful weather, changing leaves (and needles) and some of the most beautiful views anyone could have ever asked for.

We hiked 12 miles on the PCT to the Snowy Lakes and set camp at sunset. We all lay out under the dark night sky and shouted out as a shooting star would pass overhead. The following morning we woke to sunshine and smiles. We hiked up Golden Horn and Elsa & I watched as Frankie climbed to the very tippy top. Elsa and I were happy with our SSW summit claim, about 20 feet below the true summit. We then headed out and back to the car. All in all, a very beautiful weekend of hiking that welcomed fall in the cascades. Here are some photos.

Fog rolling up the valley

Summit of Golden Horn at 8366 ft

Snowy Lakes with Tower Mt in the background. View from our tent

Tower in the distance

Larch!

Happy people at Cutthroat pass